OTL: “Nobody is Going to Touch My Quarterback”

After months of speculation, we finally have a resolution to the first round of the NFL Draft, and the Ravens took one of the fanbase’s favorites and the perfect choice for the team:

We have selected guard Olaivavega Ioane at pick No. 14!!!!

Welcome to Baltimore!! pic.twitter.com/vXGwKkdL3D

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 24, 2026

Before we get into Vega, we need to address the elephant in the room. Yes, the Ravens had the chance to draft Rueben Bain, a top-three player at 14. Bain, however, had serious off-field issues that led to his drop. However, while I do think Bain’s non-football situation might have had some impact, I believe they chose Vega over him because they honestly viewed the O-line as a bigger need. They already have Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green, plus more depth at Edge, while the guard position looks much weaker. You really couldn’t go wrong, but it’s the difference between eating your vegetables instead of dessert. Bain is the sexy pick, but Vega is the safe pick.

Bain would have been an excellent pick as well, but this pick might make the Ravens better than Bain would:

I have ZERO complaints.

IOL was your biggest weakness. This will go a LONG way in fixing your biggest weakness.#RavensFLock

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) April 24, 2026

Alright, enough of the Bain talk, let’s talk about Vega because holy smokes is he good. Number one, what I love about him is that he is an excellent pass protector. He just never allows any pressure from the inside at Guard, which is important because interior pressure is often more impactful than pressure on the edge. He might be one of the best pure pass blockers I have ever evaluated in my time studying the NFL Draft.

One of the cleanest pass protectors you will find.

Does not give up space in the pocket despite the 1T jumping the snap and getting hands on first.

Low tight hands, locks out. https://t.co/sYPeSfKFOi

— Cole Jackson (@ColeJacksonFB) April 24, 2026

While his run blocking needs to improve, he does flash a ton of power and physicality in his game. He just needs to land his hands more consistently.

The last thing is that his personality is awesome, and he had an all-time quote last night with the media:

Ioane said he has the mentality of “I’m not going to get beat and nobody is going to touch my quarterback.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) April 24, 2026

We really went from he who must not be named to this mentality, man. I get that Bain would have been the sexy pick, but I think the Ravens made the smart choice and the right one overall for the organization.

On to Day 2!

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